Is Burnout a Determinant of Moral Disengagement in Team and Individual Sports?

Abstract

This study aims to reveal the relationship between moral disengagement and burnout, the level of prediction, and differentiation by different variables. In the present study, in which the relational scanning model among the quantitative research models was used, 530 elite athletes were involved. The athlete burnout scale (ABQ) and moral disengagement in sports scale (MDSS-SF) were used to collect data. The data were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation analysis, regression analysis, t-test, and ANOVA. As a result of the analysis, it was determined that the burnout level of the athletes was positively related to moral disengagement and the level of burnout was a predictor of moral disengagement in sports. It was found that there was no significant difference between burnout and moral disengagement levels of team and individual sports athletes, that the moral disengagement level of male athletes was significantly higher than that of female athletes, and that male team athletes’ level of burnout in sports was significantly higher than that of female team athletes. Moreover, the burnout-in-sports score of athletes having 12 years or longer sportive experience in individual branches was significantly higher than that of athletes having 7-11 years and that of athletes having a minimum of 6 years of experience. In this study, it was concluded that athletes’ level of burnout in sports increased the level of moral disengagement, that male athletes had a higher level of moral disengagement, and that long experience in sports increased the burnout among individual branch athletes.